Ready Set Learn!: Try, Try Again!

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All Rise...

You know who's ready and set to learn? Judge David Johnson!

The Charge

Learn important social lessons from talking animals.

The Case

From the Discover Kids vault comes a selection of shows primed to engage your
preschoolers in simple concepts. Each show is tailored toward a specific
developmental area: emotional advancement, literacy and problem solving.

• "Paz" Paz the penguin stars in episodes
introducing young children to concepts involving emotional intelligence. First
up, in "Frisbee Dog" he and his pals Pig and Dog play with some
Frisbees and learn important lessons about practice and not feeling ashamed of
failure and leaning on friends to give support. Next, in "Red Scooter"
Paz is excited about growing tall and getting his chance at riding his dad's red
scooter all by himself but will eventually learn about patience and preparation.
Finally, in "The Great Race" Paz challenges a smart-ass frog to a race
and teaches the little amphibian about being "sure and steady" and
working hard.

• "Wilbur" Wilbur is a calf and his charge is to
encourage preschoolers in their embryonic literacy skills. He and his barnyard
friends all work together to keep the reading train rolling. In "The Wright
Stuff," Wilbur takes his interest in flying and opens a book about the
Wright Brothers. Then, in "Libby's Apples," Wilbur helps Libby pick
apples and when Libby wants to learn how to count to three, it's time to read a
book about the wonderful, mystical world of integers!

• "The Save-Ums" The Save-Ums are
computer-generated creatures of unknown classification that help fellow
organisms with their problems by using brainpower and ingenuity. At their
headquarters, those in need fire off an emergency call summoning the Save-Ums.
"Untangle That Octopus" prompts the Save-Ums to deploy their
submersible watercraft to untangle their octopus friend from the mess of knots
she created with her shoelaces. Obviously, that means using giant robot hands.
"Operation Seesaw" has the Save-Ums helping some Spanish-speaking ants
that are stuck on a seesaw. A valuable lesson on the introductory concept of
balance ensues.

This is a nice arrangement of preschool-oriented programming. The animation
and/or puppetry is charming and attractive and the stories are short and fun.
The disc comes with an extensive booklet detailing the concepts touched upon and
games, activities and other resources are also included. Bonus materials include
three bonus episodes, five music videos and some tips for parents. Add to that
the Paz finger puppet that comes with the package and you're looking at a
winner.